Blue stars Duncan James and Antony Costa have said that Ant & Dec's rise to the top of the charts with 'Let's Get Ready to Rhumble' is "f**king mental".

The singers appeared with bandmates Lee Ryan and Simon Webbe for a special Big Reunion segment on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway this weekend, during which the presenting duo performed their 1994 PJ & Duncan hit.

Speaking to Digital Spy at last night's (March 25) Chortle Awards, James and Costa revealed how Ant & Dec had scoffed when they suggested after the show that 'Let's Get Ready to Rhumble' could be a hit once again.

"I remember on Saturday night I went to Ant after the show, 'I bet you guys are Top 10 tomorrow', and he was like, 'Oh bollocks, no way'," Costa said.

"It was just amazing. I'm so pleased for them... people are buzzing. Its f**king mental."

James added that the performance reminded them of being on Ant & Dec's classic breakfast show SMTV: Live, saying: "It felt like we'd gone back in time. We were looking for Cat Deeley to come out and then it would be complete."

"It's nice because there's a bit of a buzz about Blue again and the Big Reunion has done amazingly well," James said. "We're really happy to be a part of [it], it's a big opportunity for us."

On entering the show late, much to the annoyance of fellow acts like 5ive, Atomic Kitten and B*Witched, Costa said: "We never expected people to bow down to us, because who are we? I can see why they were pissed off, but we ain't done anything over here [for years]."

James added: "We were a bit worried about not having any of our hardcore Blue fans in the [Hammersmith Apollo] audience.

"We thought we were going to go out on stage and get booed, but actually, without being big-headed, got the biggest reaction of the night."